News

Latest Pembroke barrage gate repairs to cost £146,000

PEMBROKE barrage has long been the subject of great debate among the town’s residents.

As far back as June 1995, the Western Telegraph reported the cost of the Pembroke Barrage project and the redevelopment of the Castle Pond had spiralled to more than £1.9 million, but the state-of-the-art equipment was not working as promised.

And now, the latest set of repairs – to the barrage gate, the hydraulic cylinder which operates the gate and replacement bearings in the hinges at the bottom of the gate – are expected to cost the council £146,000, with expenditure already having reached £93,000.

The gate has been undergoing repairs at a steel fabricators yard at Pembroke Dock since last August.

It is hoped site preparations will be completed later this week, followed by the installation of the gate next month, a Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said.

But it is not known whether the repair work will help alleviate flooding in the town.

The spokesman added: “There is no guarantee flooding will be prevented – and none has ever been given, as sudden very heavy rain can overwhelm the available storage.

“However, when reinstalled and back to full operation, the structure helps to mitigate the risk of tidal and fluvial flooding.”

Pembroke mayor Councillor Keith Nicholas said he hoped the repair work would help minimise problems.

He said this winter’s flooding on the Commons was, to “a larger degree”, because the barrage did not open or close, as well as unusually high tides.

“I hope that with the work nearing completion this will minimise flooding in the future,” he added.

Pembroke town councillor Linda Asman said the barrage was an “ongoing controversy”, which “has never worked properly”, and had cost the taxpayer “goodness knows how much” in the process.

Comments (1)

1. Why is this chargeable to Pembroke Town Council, they didn't want houses built alongside the dam access area, but were overruled by PCC.

2. To reduce the flooding on the Commons and Mill Pond area, the Mill pond, upper and lower needs to be dredged!! It's silted up to much, it's gradually raised it's bed over the years.

3. When receiving met office information, which happens to PCC and all blue light services, the pond needs to be emptied, the dam gates then either left open on low tide or closed before the tied comes in.

4. The culverts all along the Commons especially at Bridgend Terrace and out falls into the stream need regular maintenance, failure to do so will once again flood the road outside Golden Grove School.

5. It may be nice to have a water backdrop to Pembroke Castle, but there's a Dam there for a reason, if there's a failure of one of the above points, the whole thing fails in one go.

You go to wonder why the hell they filled in the Commons in the first place, it was a natural flood plain!

Just a few observations?
1. Why is this chargeable to Pembroke Town Council, they didn't want houses built alongside the dam access area, but were overruled by PCC.
2. To reduce the flooding on the Commons and Mill Pond area, the Mill pond, upper and lower needs to be dredged!! It's silted up to much, it's gradually raised it's bed over the years.
3. When receiving met office information, which happens to PCC and all blue light services, the pond needs to be emptied, the dam gates then either left open on low tide or closed before the tied comes in.
4. The culverts all along the Commons especially at Bridgend Terrace and out falls into the stream need regular maintenance, failure to do so will once again flood the road outside Golden Grove School.
5. It may be nice to have a water backdrop to Pembroke Castle, but there's a Dam there for a reason, if there's a failure of one of the above points, the whole thing fails in one go.
You go to wonder why the hell they filled in the Commons in the first place, it was a natural flood plain!PDBlue